The Shadow Blade
by PHO3NIXFIRE
Summary: The later years of a Forsaken assassin and his Blood Elf accomplice. Rated M for Language and Violence. Comments and criticism are welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_My name is Faidz. I don't know when I died, all I know is that I was 25, and for the last 50 years I've been working for Sylvanas and her Forsaken. I'm an assassin, and a damned good one at that. 50 years is a lot of time to hone and perfect your skills. I take the jobs no other assassins will take, like the one I'm on now. I'm in Stormwind City, on the roof opposite the house of my target. His name is Renn. Deziel Renn. An Alliance politician and an activist supporting the Alliance going to war against the Horde. My superior thinks this is a problem, and he needs to be taken care of. The other assassins don't like missions like this. Deep in enemy territory, one chance to get it done or you're dead. This is how I live. This is what I do. I'm an assassin._

I looked up into the cloudy night sky. Perfect, no moon, no stars, just darkness. My best friend. My eyes moved back to the balcony I was previously watching. Renn would be in that room shortly, his guests left not too long ago. I needed to get this done tonight. I hated being this deep in Alliance territory, but it paid good, and with Seliena on my side, I could do it twice as fast as anyone else.

I had to hand it to Seliena this time. She had got me the target's address, description and almost everything else there is to know within two days. I didn't want to know how she did it, but she impressed me.

Let me tell you about Seliena. She's my accomplice, she gets the information that is too risky for me, or if it's too risky for me to be in a certain place. She is also a master of disguise, this time she posed as an ambassador for the Kirin Tor in order to get into Stormwind, and to get close to Renn. Apparently he has a soft spot for Blood Elves, too.

I pressed up against the chimney I was hiding behind and prepared for action as the lights downstairs dimmed, and one made its way upstairs. He was coming upstairs. I watched as he stood out on his balcony and took a deep breath of the summer air, unaware of the eyes watching him from across the street. I silently thanked the hot summer nights of Elwynn Forest as he extinguished the candle he had used to light his way to bed and stepped back inside, leaving the doors wide open, allowing the breeze into his room.

I made one final check of my gear. Gloves are OK, each of the tiny blades strapped to my body was secure, the woollen pads on the bottom of my boots were secure, the metal straps that kept my boots together when I activated them were secure, and all of my gadgets and gizmos were ready for action, if the situation arose. I tucked my cloak into the back of my belt, it was good for hiding, but not so good when you needed to be fast, it got in the way. Finally, I pulled out the red mask I wore and tied it around the bottom half of my face. Partly to cover up my lack of a bottom jaw, but mostly because I now looked like a member of the Defias Brotherhood, a disguise I wore to ensure that the Horde were not suspects for each of my attacks, in the event of a witness, of course.

I quickly calculated the distance between his roof and mine, about two metres. I love Stormwind's narrow streets. I ran and jumped to his roof, everything around me was lost for a split second as the wind rushed past my ears, and Renn's house grew closer. I grasped at the external wooden framework that the Human's loved in their architecture, steadying myself before moving over to the balcony. I pulled myself up, and quickly darted into his room as a gust of wind blew through the street. I had to quickly duck as the sound of something fragile shattering echoed around the room, waking Renn from his sleep.

I grasped at the goggles around my neck and pulled them over my eyes. You've got to love the goblins; they invented a device that lets a person see at night. I watched Deziel sit up groggily, rubbing his eyes. The doors creaked as the wind blew them, the curtains billowing into the room.

"Fucking wind", the politician muttered in Common, pulling the covers off and stepping out of his bed.

I slowly drew my dagger, thankful for the woollen lining of the sheath which made drawing the blade quieter, and moved behind the human as he closed the doors to the balcony. A slight gasp escaped his lips as he turned, impaling himself on my dagger. I felt his warmth seep through my glove as his blood flowed out of the wound. His eyes looked straight ahead, widened with fear and surprise at his unseen assailant. My hand covered his mouth as his breathing increased, his body trying to survive. I pushed the small dagger in further and wrenched it upwards. That had to have ruptured something. He staggered backwards, one hand reaching out to the darkness, the other clutching his midsection. The sound of blood trickling on the floor filled the room as he stumbled into one of the chairs in his room, one final gasp coming from his mouth before a sickening death rattle brought silence to the darkness.

Footsteps caught my attention, and a dim orange light flickered under the door.

'_Shit_', I thought as I hurried to the balcony door, wrenching the handle open and pulling myself onto the roof.

I stopped to listen to who had almost caught me; Seliena wouldn't be getting away with this. Her haste had almost cost me my life, and it will certainly hinder my getaway.

"Daddy, is everything ok?" Came a muffled voice. The door creaked open. "I thought I heard something brea-".

A high pitched scream rang through the narrow streets; I looked down to see at least seven guards rushing into the house.

"There! There! On the roof!" I looked to see an elderly woman at her window, pointing at me and screaming hysterically.

I turned and ran as a guard started hauling himself up onto the roof. Panic gripped me as I looked down when hopping from one roof to another, there must have been at least ten guards down on the street level too. This was going to be tough. I ran the guards on a big loop, until I recognised the rooftop I had watched Deziel from. I leapt back from Renn's roof to the one over the street, quickly formulating my plan mid leap. I quickly hopped down into the alleyway I had used to get up onto the roof, bouncing from wall to wall on my way down to steady myself. I landed on the stone floor and sprinted out into the street, the guards from the floor hot on my heels.

I turned onto a bridge, quickly realising my mistake, they had me trapped. Guards on both sides of the bridge. They seemed to sigh in relief; they knew I wasn't going anywhere. They slowly approached, weapons drawn.

"Do you know what happens to Defias scum like you?" One of them asked, his sword glinting in the orange glow of Stormwind's streetlights.

"You go to the keep. Tortured for days until you give us what we want, or until you go mad." Another sneered.

"Aren't you going to fight back?" Taunted one of them, "you've lead us on this chase and now you're going to give up?"

I acted faster than either of the guard's reflexes could keep up with. I kicked the closest guard to me and threw a smoke bomb into the floor. I ducked under a slash I wasn't sure would come, but ducked all the same and dived into the river, hoping the confusion on the bridge would cover the splash. I swam to the entrance of Stormwind, idly loitering in the water, I just needed Seliena's distraction to lure these guards away, and then I could escape to my refuge in the forest until morning. I didn't know what kind of distraction she had planned, but after her lack of information, it had better work.

The sound of an explosion shook the quiet night air, and somewhere in the Trade District a pillar of smoke and flames billowed into the air. I almost grinned as the guards posted at the entrance rushed into the city, and I pulled myself out of the water and jogged back to the barn I was staying in. I made sure that the owners of the farm were asleep before I entered the barn and climbed into the hayloft, removed my weapons and waited patiently for Seliena.

After about twenty minutes she stumbled into the barn, a big grin plastered on her face. I dropped down and pulled my mask off.

"Whoo! What a distraction!" she almost yelled.

"Keep it down!" I whispered angrily.

"What's eating your maggots, huh?" The Blood Elf asked me.

"What?" I seethed. "Maybe the fact that I was almost caught, and had to escape from damn near the whole of Stormwind fucking City!" I yelled in my own distinct dialect of Gutterspeak.

"Well don't get in a strop at me because your skills are getting rusty," She replied in her own Gutterspeak, riddled with the Blood Elven accent.

"My skills!" I fumed. "More like your incompetence!"

"How the fuck is you getting caught my fault?" She asked, her own temper rising.

"Because you failed to tell me about his daughter!"

"His…his daughter?" The Blood Elf asked, shocked.

"How the fuck did you not find out about his daughter?" I continued, "I had my dagger inside him as she came upstairs…I had to bolt faster than I'd like to do again, then I got chased all around fucking Stormwind, and I had to fucking swim out of there!"

Seliena sat down, her head in her hands. "How did I miss that?" She asked, not directed at anyone particular.

"Because you rushed", I answered, "It was partly my fault though, I wanted to be in and out as soon as possible, so that put a lot of pressure on you. Anyway, the distraction worked, and we're both safe, and Renn is dead, so it's all good. By the way, what did you blow up? And how did you blow it up that much?"

"Their bank." She grinned at me. "It took some doing, but I used my Kirin Tor disguise to get a load of explosives from the Engineering shop, told them I wanted to open an account there, put it all in, and just stayed in my vault, pretending to be organising it until I needed to blow it, lit the fuse then ran out of there."

"Well, it was pretty clever, so congrats to you on that one." I said, the mood lifting slightly. "If I could, I would have grinned, but you know, no bottom jaw."

She giggled as she stood up, and then looked at me. "Want me to stay around tomorrow; I'll get you a newspaper. It's been a good night for Stormwind, the Defias killing one of their officials and an attack on their bank. They're gonna have a lot of cleaning up to do."

I nodded and climbed back into the loft, I stretched and then laid on a pile of hay as I watched Seliena take off her Kirin Tor robes and lay down, pulling a blanket over her. I closed my eyes and lay my head against the soft hay, looking forward to getting my exploits translated back in Dalaran.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**I don't own WoW or any of the in-game characters mentioned. I own all my own characters.

**A/N **Ok, so this took a while, hope the quantity and quality makes up for it. real world shit, you know the deal, amirite?

I squinted slightly as I woke up, the suns rays visible through the dust that filled the barn, its golden light illuminating the dank wooden interior of the building. I rubbed my eyes and sat up, taking a moment to check my surroundings. Cows were below me, chewing the hay that lay around the floor, letting out the occasional moo. A few birds sat on the windowsill, probably hoping to catch a few of the flies that buzzed around in here. Seliena was across from me, still asleep, her pale skin and dark hair a contrast to the hay on which she lay. I stood up and walked over to her, and then I placed a bare hand on her exposed shoulder. Her warmth shot though me faster than any pain I had ever experienced, my entire arm seemed to feel warm, something it hasn't done for a long time. Memories flashed through my mind of when I was alive, memories I never knew I had. I shook her lightly and quickly withdrew my arm, taking a moment to examine it, then returning my attention to the Elf laid before me. She muttered something in Thalassian, leaving me to stare blankly. I didn't understand the language of the Elves.

"You know I don't speak Thalassian," I said to her, looking around for my facemask, suddenly uncomfortable with showing off my exposed lack of a bottom jaw.

"I said 'Did you sleep with your clothes on again?'" Seliena asked in Gutterspeak.

"Yeah, why?" I answered.

"Can't you at least have some dignity?" She started, "You'll smell."

"Seliena, when you're as dead as me, bodily odour isn't a problem. I think the smell of being dead is a little bit worse." I answered flatly. "Come on, get up. You need to get my newspaper, and then we can get out of here."

I pulled the blanket she was sleeping under.

"Turn around then." She screamed at me, her hands frantically covering up her red lacy underwear.

I turned and distinctly heard her mutter "perv."

I saw my mask, lying on the floor below me, and then I remembered last night's argument. I dropped down and picked it up, taking a few second to bat the hay off it and then wrapped it around my face, tying a knot at the back to secure it. I climbed back up the ladder, just in time to see her pull her Kirin Tor robe over some lacy black underwear.

"You ready?" I asked as I pulled myself into the loft.

She sighed as she turned to stare at me. "Yes. I'm ready. I'll go get your newspaper. Shall I meet you in Dalaran? Or here?"

"Here. I need to wash my dagger." I answered.

The Blood Elf descended the ladder as I strapped my sword to my waist, and picked up the tiny dagger. She had disappeared by the time I dropped down. I grabbed one of the water troughs and unsheathed my blood caked dagger. I sighed and took out the scrap bit of linen I used to wash my blade and started scrubbing, occasionally dipping it back into the water. After a good twenty minutes of furious scrubbing, I could finally see specs of silver amongst the brown-red of dried blood. It took another twenty minutes until I had the blade spotless, and by that time Seliena was back with my newspaper.

"There. Finally finished." I sighed.

"It's about time. Here's your newspaper," the Blood Elf handed me a small roll of paper.

I opened it up, a picture of the fire took up at least half of the page, and a small picture of Deziel occupied the bottom left corner. I couldn't read the writing, but knowing that I had made the front page was enough at the moment.

"Ha. Front page!" I almost yelled.

"Yeah, go you. Can we go now? I don't want to smell like Human peasant for the rest of my life." Seliena complained.

"Sure." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small white stone.

Seliena pulled her stone out too, and I lightly rubbed the bright blue rune etched into one of its sides. The rune flashed a bright blue for a split second before an invisible force pulled me suddenly and the barn turned into a blur. Lights flashed and spun around me at dizzying speeds, and the sound of wind rushing past me ears was deafening.

Thud.

Something hard hit me in the face.

"Still not got the hang of it yet, huh?" came a smooth voice.

I looked around; I was in the Legerdemain Lounge, and Arille Azuregaze was looking down at me, a huge grin on his face.

"I don't think I ever will." I replied.

"Here," he said, extending an arm out to me.

I wrenched myself up as Seliena stepped into view next to me.

"Fell over again?" She asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Ha. You'll never learn." She turned and sat at a table as I walked to the bar.

"Arille, I need a favour." I said to the bartender.

"Sure, what do you need?" the High Elf asked.

"Translating." I said, handing him the newspaper from Stormwind, "into Gutterspeak."

"Sure, it'll take some time though," Arille said, quickly flicking through the newspaper.

"Of course." I said, "I have things to do anyway, I should be back between midday and evening, is that long enough?"

"Well that depends on the business," he said as I walked over to Seliena. "I'm out for a while, do you have things to do, or are you staying here before we head back?"

"Oh, I'll catch up with Amisi; maybe see what new dresses they have in The Threads of Fate."

I left the inn, into the bustling streets of Dalaran. I wasn't a fan of the city. It was too busy, too noisy, just too many people in one place. It wasn't right. Sure, it had its uses though. Every shop Seliena and I could need, magic portals to every major city, and Arille. I had to give the guy credit, he was fluent in almost every language on Azeroth, save the more exotic or ridiculous ones like Murloc or Centaur, but the big ten, he was your guy. Draenei, Darnassian, Common, Dwarven, Gnomish, Orcish, Gutterspeak, Taur-ahe, Zandali and Thalassian. He knew them all. He was the one I went to if a contact or informant didn't speak Gutterspeak, or if I wanted to read about any particularly spectacular endeavours. I've know him for a long time, and his wife, Amisi, so we always have a room reserved in their Inn, and I'll lend a hand with unruly customers or missing deliveries, and he gives Seliena and I lodging when we need it and acts as translator when I need it.

I turned a corner into the busiest part of Dalaran. The Magus Commerce Exchange. If you needed it, there would probably be a shop here that sold it. The purple stone floor was practically invisible because of the dense crowd that moved constantly through this area. My eyes followed the contours of the nearest building upwards, past the golden stained-glass windows, up the shimmering white stone building right up to the distant peak of the spire, laid against a royal blue background. I shook myself off and moved with the flow of the crowd until I reached my destination. Like Clockwork, the engineering shop, and the home of any and every gadget conceivable. The sound of the crowd disappeared as I stepped into the shop, and a small squeaky voice came from behind a desk.

"Be right with ya."

I looked around at the vast range of mechanical devices around the store, from tiny structures no bigger than a roach to what seemed to be an oversized mechanical screwdriver.

"It's busy out there, huh?" Said the squeaky voice.

"Yeah well, you know how it is," I replied, "you just let the crowd take you where it wants to, there's no point fighting through it."

"I'd recognize that accent anywhere," The voice exclaimed, "has my favourite zombie come to pay me a visit?"

"Oh Didi, you know I hate it when you call me that," I sighed.

A Goblin with brown hair appeared over the counter, her eyes hidden behind glowing pink goggles, a smudge of grease on her face and an oversized wrench strapped to her back.

"What can I do for ya?" Didi asked.

"Well, I was wondering what you could fit into this," I answered, holding out my arm.

I twisted a small switch and a small rocket launcher mechanically moved away from my arm, stopping when it was about an inch away. Didi gasped and quickly moved closer, her fingers stroking every inch of it, occasionally muttering words like 'wow', and 'amazing'.

"So you gots the gun but no ammo, huh?" The Goblin asked, an eyebrow raised.

"That's pretty much the situation," I replied, "I built it around a flare, but I was hoping you'd have something with a bit more kaboom. You know what I mean?"

"Honey, I'm a Goblin, kaboom is our business." Didi said enthusiastically.

She turned around and fumbled in a box behind her, occasionally brushing her hair out of her face.

"Aha!" She said, turning back around. "See if this fits."

Didi handed me what looked like a red smoke flare, with teeth painted onto the front. I slotted it into the cannon, where it fit quite snugly.

"Perfect as usual, Didi," I said, grinning slightly. "Tell me about its kaboom."

"Put it this way, it'll get through wood, stone, and most metals."

"And how much is it going to cost me?" I asked, my eyes catching a sign saying '20 Silver' crudely tied to the front of the box.

"Three Gold." answered the Goblin. "Each."

"Didi," I said, stretching out the last syllable, "I have a feeling you are trying to rip me off. I'll give you thirty Silver each, that's more than you were selling them for."

"Fine," She huffed, turning around and rummaging through the box. "How many do you want?"

"Just give me five, for now," I said, placing the money onto the worktop and picking up the rockets.

"Take care," Didi said as she waved frantically.

I stepped back into the emptying streets, the sun was starting to set and I needed to get back to Undercity for debriefing. I met Seliena at the Inn and head to the portals. I hated portals. I located the one which would take me to Undercity and stepped through. My vision blurred as it felt like a hook through my stomach was pulling my entire body through a keyhole, lights flashed around me at dizzying speeds until.

Thud.

I hit something cold, damp and hard. It smelled like the inside of a carrion worm's bowel. And I loved it. Home. The one place where the wretched living stay away, where the Forsaken roam. I opened my eyes. I at the top of the pyramid-like building which the Forsaken magic users call home.

I walked the five minute walk to the Rogue's Quarter, the section of Undercity where Forsaken like me do business. Contract kills, thefts, anything people would consider morally wrong. The shady business, my business. I met with my superior, Miles Dexter, in a dark alley behind the Charles House. He handed me the Stormwind newsprint, an explosion and Deziel's face on the front.

"Subtlety, Faidz, Subtlety," he started in quiet frustration, "What is subtle about that? This was supposed to be easy, a simple get in, kill, get out. No alarms, no guards, just one dead politician, one alive assassin. But no, that's too boring for you, isn't it, you thought you'd alert the guards, have yourself a merry little chase, then blow up the…what did you blow up?'

"The bank," I said, barely audibly.

"Marvellous. Stormwind fucking bank. What's up, not content with taking a politician out, but you thought you'd fuck over their entire economy, too?" Dexter continued, his voice rising.

"I only had to blow it up because I couldn't get out," I said, trying to defend myself.

"Because you couldn't get out…" Miles repeated, chuckling as he said it. "So climb over a wall, wait until the change, shit, throw a rock at them, don't blow up their fucking bank! I tell you, it's a good job you wear that Defias disguise, or we'd all be fucked by now. Anyway, the job is done, so here's the pay."

He dropped a heavy sack of coins into my hand.

"That's for her, too," He said, nodding towards Seliena. "Now, your next job. It's on Horde turf, so you have GOT to be careful. In, then out. No blowing shit up, no chases through cities, and no witnesses."

I nodded, "Who's the target, sir?"

"A Blood Elf." He replied, glancing at Seliena for a moment. "Athaniar Suntreader. One of Silvermoon's upper class. Fancy parties, personal guard, et cetera. It's been confirmed that he is in frequent contact with Kael'Thas, the former leader of the Blood Elves, who led a good number of them into the service of Kil'Jaeden. Well, considering the Horde's history with the Burning Legion, we aren't taking any more risks, Thrall himself has backed this assassination, and you are our best operative."

"Even though I just fucked Stormwind up? You're trusting me with this?" I asked, astounded.

"Yes, this contract is your lifeline, pull this off without a hitch, we'll promote you, you will gain all the perks that go with it, your own apprentice, free lodgings in any Horde settlement, and a higher percentage of the contract will go to you. However, should you fail, myself, Undercity and the entire Horde shall deny any involvement with the assassination and you will suffer for it, most likely resulting in your death. This is the guy you're after." Miles handed me a small picture which I placed in one of the pockets on my gear. "Now, get out of here, there's no deadline, but sooner rather than later, if you don't mind."

"Right, we crash here for tonight, head to Silvermoon tomorrow and you can do what you do best. Sound like a plan?" I asked Seliena as we headed toward the Trade Quarter.

"No way." She replied, shaking her head, her dark hair shimmering in the light, "Do you have any idea what the air in this place will do to my skin? We go to Silvermoon tonight, we can crash at my apartment there."

"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes, "But I'm going to the bank first, I want to drop this off."

I shook the bag of coins.

"You mean your share." Seliena said, raising one of her long eyebrows.

"Of course." I nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

The Court of the Sun materialised around me as I staggered to the floor, the Orb of Translocation's side effect being similar to having a mammoth squeeze your body like a tube of toothpaste. I stood up and looked around, this being my first time in Silvermoon City. Night was falling, casting an eerie purple light throughout the city, the red stained glass windows in the buildings a stark contrast to the dwindling light. The golden statue-topped roofs disappeared into the encroaching darkness, and magic lights throughout the city illuminated automatically. In the centre of the courtyard stood a huge white fountain, three large, well crafted Blood Elves holding up a disc as water cascaded into the wide pool below. Seliena appeared beside me, and I caught her glancing up at me expectantly.

"Well, you Blood Elves definitely do things on a grand scale." I said, gauging her response.

"Yeah, which is precisely why I left," She replied, "But it's good to be back."

"So, where is this apartment you have?" I asked, "And do you mind if I ask why you have it, when you barely use it?"

"My parents pay for it, and it's so I have somewhere to stay when I'm back here," The Blood Elf answered, "They also entertain the notion that one day I will settle down back here, earn a sensible living. And it's not far; it's above the inn on Murder Row."

I chuckled to myself.

"What?" Seliena turned her head towards me as we started walking.

"Do you not see the irony in that? We will be staying on Murder Row, and think of the nature of our visit to Silvermoon." I answered with a grin.

The water beside us roared as we walked down a short flight of stairs, the water fell over a small waterfall into another pool in the lower section of the courtyard. Around this lower pool sat several statues of fish, each spouting a stream of water into the pool. An Arcane Guardian patrolled this lower section, apparently unmoved by the precisely and perfectly trimmed hedgerows or the golden leaved trees which decorated the courtyard.

"There it is, Murder Row." Seliena said, gesturing in front of us as we continued our walk.

Murder Row was the complete opposite of the Court of the Sun. Where the courtyard was bright, spacious and a truly beautiful sight, Murder Row was dark, cramped and full of shady characters like myself, this was the centre of the shady businesses in Silvermoon. A drunken Blood Elf lay on the doorstep as we stepped through the blue net curtains into the inn. The inn was bustling with activity, not overcrowded, but not empty. The majority of the crowd was drinking, whether celebrating personal accomplishments or drowning their sorrows. Seliena walked to the barmaid and whispered a few words, to which the barmaid placed something in her hand. She returned to me, holding a small golden key in her hand.

"Come on," The Blood Elf said, moving towards the door.

I followed her outside and through a door. After climbing several flights of stairs she stopped and unlocked a door.

"Here we are, it's not much, but its home," Seliena said, gesturing me inside.

It may have been modest to the Blood Elves, but in my eyes, it was magnificent and luxurious. The walls and floor were the same white stone throughout the city, with red and gold embellishments. On the floor there was a rich red and gold rug, and comfortable red seats dotted the room. Along the far wall there were two huge stained glass windows, with opaque red net curtains and thick red velvet curtains. A stained glass door was between the two windows. I moved slowly around the apartment, the kitchen was tidy and well kept, and the lounge area was decorated similarly to the rest of the apartment, golds and reds, with a low couch that looked like I would sink into it if I sat on it. There was a low glass topped table in the centre of the apartment, with finely crafted, ornate golden patterns worked into the surface, and in each corner a huge red gem reflected the dim light from the magical lights outside. On this table sat a small golden pot with incense sticks poking out from the top of it. A huge fireplace was built into one wall, ornaments and trinkets littered the top of it, a fire burnt steadily, casting an orange glow around the room. I turned around and if I had a bottom jaw, it would have hit the floor. Before me stood a huge four poster bed, crafted from white wood and gold. Thick purple blankets were neatly layered on top, with throw pillows leaning against the headboard, and red lace curtains cascaded down from the top of the bed. The bed was massive, almost twice my height in length and width. I walked to the foot of the bed, running my hand along the intricate golden patterns, transfixed by the amount of effort, time and dedication the crafter must have put into this.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Seliena asked from the kitchen, "Or shall we call it a night?"

"What are you making?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I'll get Velandra to make something and bring it up." She answered.

"Don't worry about it then. Besides…" I paused as I sat on the couch, sinking about two more inches towards the floor, "…I'm sat down now."

"Don't go making everything in here smell like dead," Seliena called through, faking concern.

"Too late for that," I said, putting my feet up on the arm of the couch, resting my head on the other arm. "Sit down?" I gestured to an empty seat on the other side of the table.

"Mind if I get changed first? I hate this Kirin Tor crap you put me through." She answered, walking past me, not waiting for a response.

"Hey, if you had a better idea for getting into Stormwind, why didn't you say so?" I called back to her.

"Well, I didn't have one, ok. So what's the plan for tomorrow?" She asked.

"Well I've got to lay kinda low, I don't want to draw too much attention, a Forsaken in Silvermoon, I stick out a bit. I was thinking I could go familiarise myself with the layout of the city, while you get any info on this Suntreader guy."

Seliena returned, her dark hair cascading down her back, my jaw would have dropped again, she was wearing a pink silk vest, which came barely halfway down her thighs. Her pale skin was slightly tinted by the light of the windows, and her dazzling green eyes illuminated her facial structure in the dwindling light. I averted my eyes as she sat on the seat and crossed her legs.

"That sounds good, but we both need to lay low, I'd like to return every now and then, I don't want to be exiled or anything, so I'm going to have to be careful about how I get my information."

"Ok, I understand that, I wouldn't like to be booted out of Undercity," I said, gazing into the ceiling, "We don't have a deadline though, so we can take a bit of time to plan how this is going to work."

"Oh, I have a great idea!" The Blood Elf shouted, making me jump with surprise. "I could show you around Silvermoon. We can go visit my parents, the Bazaar, it's always full of people talking, we can go shopping, you can have some Sin'dorei food. I know a great little shop down in Falconwing Square, sure, it's a bit of a walk, but they have the most amazing cherry pies you could imagine."

"Seliena, take a deep breath," I said, smiling behind my mask, "and that is the opposite of what I was thinking. You can go visit your parents, but why should I? I'm not asking to marry you, am I? And we can't be seen together if we can help it, if one of us got caught, it would put the other in danger."

Seliena looked crestfallen. She uncrossed her legs, placing both feet firmly on the floor and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, and hissed, "Well, the last time I got a letter from them, they said they wanted to meet you. Besides, they work in the bank, they hear everything, they might have something for us with regards to Athaniar. And what if you got lost exploring the city? I know my way around; I know all of the shortcuts, all of the hiding places. And as for us not being seen together, we turned up together, we walked into a bar together, we're staying in the same apartment. We're in this together, Faidz, whether you like it or not."

"Ok, ok," I said, knowing defeat, "We'll do all that stuff that you just said, but if this goes wrong and one of us gets caught and the other one has to spend their life in exile…it was your fault, ok?"

"Fine, I can live with that," the Blood Elf said, relaxing and sitting back in her seat, crossing her legs again.

Seliena stood up after a few moments of awkward silence, and went over to her bed. She returned with one of the purple blankets from her bed. She folded it and placed it on the table beside me.

"Here, you're not sleeping in your clothes again." She said.

"Are we turning in then?" I asked, standing and unfastening the many straps of my armour.

"Yeah, we've got a lot to do tomorrow," She answered, removing some of the bigger logs from the fire and setting them on the floor in front of it, ready to be used again. The fire slowly ebbed until only ashes and cinders remained, darkening the room.

"Are you going to look away?" I asked, her gaze hadn't left me since she had put the last log down.

She seemed to shudder with embarrassment and walked quickly to her bed, her eyes fixed on the floor as I removed my armour and settled on the sofa.

"Night," I said into the dark room, hoping to comfort her slightly before she drifted off to sleep.

I squinted as the sun illuminated the room through the windows, waking me from my slumber. I groaned and stretched on the couch, the cushion deeply indented from where I had been laid in the night. I slouched back in the sofa, my ears picking up sounds in the bathroom as my eyes fell on my perfectly folded armour on the floor beside me. I quickly pulled on my leggings and grabbed my dagger, and quietly made for the bathroom. Just as I rounded the corner into the bathroom, Seliena appeared, dropping the brush and letting out a squeal as she adjusted her towel.

"You scared the crap out of me," she gasped.

"Sorry, I heard noises," I answered, idly tossing the dagger back to the sofa.

"Are you still coming to see my parents with me today?" The Blood Elf asked.

"Do I really have an alternative?" I asked in response.

"Well…no" She answered.

"Well then, let's go see them," I said, pulling my armour on.

The Bazaar was a huge, open area, surrounded on all four sides by many buildings, and the Auction House in the centre, where several Blood Elves stood on a platform selling various wares to a huge crowd before them. The Bazaar was full of activity; Blood Elves going about their business, around the edges of the marketplace were wagons with often eccentric salesman stood in front of them, energetically trying to sell what they had to offer. It was apparent immediately that I would find no information by eavesdropping here, for it was the marketplace for the middle and lower classes of Blood Elf, I was certain that my target would prefer more lavish surroundings. We arrived at her parent's house, an apartment above the Bank of Silvermoon, above the noise and commotion of the marketplace.

Seliena knocked on the door, to which an elderly male Blood Elf answered.

"Ann'da!" Seliena exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the man.

"Seliena!" He said, returning the embrace.

The two began chattering in Thalassian, a language I didn't understand very well. Seliena's father motioned for us to enter the apartment. The apartment was large, and very spacious. The interior was sparsely decorated, not nearly as cluttered as Seliena's, however, what was there was obviously very expensive, everything was finely crafted, with the usual white stone, gold trim and red embellishments seen throughout the city. Her father shouted something in Thalassian, and an elderly woman entered the room, dark haired and fair skinned, obviously Seliena's mother.

"Mother, Father, I would like you to meet Faidz," Seliena said in Orcish, a language we all understood, motioning towards me.

I stepped forward and bowed my head slightly.

"Faidz, I would like you to meet my mother, Ishnu, and my father, Turus." I shook her father's hand and bowed my head towards her mother.

"Please, make yourself at home while we catch up with our daughter," Her mother said, gracefully extending her arm to a sofa near the fireplace.

I nodded and moved towards the sofa as the family left the room, chattering in Thalassian. I didn't take a seat, for fear of infecting the room with my smell of death. Instead, I stood before the fireplace, inspecting the various decorations. Two finely crafted gold stags stood at each end, obviously some sort of good luck charm for the family, and a bunch of pictures along the length of the fireplace. My eyes immediately fell on the central picture, obviously a recent one, a well painted image of the family.

It must have been expensive, a finely crafted golden frame, and rich oils and paints used in the image. Seliena's mother and father stood at the back, his long white hair had obviously been cut since then. Seliena knelt before her father, the likeness to her mother strikingly apparent, but my eyes wouldn't leave the figure in front of her mother. A female Blood Elf, not much older than Seliena, her long blonde hair flowing past her shoulders, with one thick curl falling down the side of her face. She obviously got most of her looks from her father, the narrow chin, her high angled ears, the long, slightly curly hair , and the darker skin, I assumed she was Seliena's sister and I browsed over the rest of the pictures.

One was of Seliena as a child, and one of her sister, and one of the two together. There was a photo of Turus and Ishnu's wedding, and one of what I assumed to be the honeymoon. What caught my eye though was an old picture, not even in colour, on an old piece of parchment, one of the corners was missing and there were a lot of creases on it, it was obviously a picture of Ishnu, but the resemblance to Seliena was almost confusing, they were practically identical.

After an hour or so of chatting to her parents, Seliena and I announced our departure, having learnt a lot about Athaniar, we returned to her apartment to formulate a plan. I grabbed a bunch of random ornaments and began arranging them in a rough layout of the Court of the Sun.

'Right, he has eight Forsaken Warlock guards, who serve as his personal bodyguard,' I said, pointing at eight small ornaments. I will take the place of one of these, one of the leaders of the groups of four. You will be on this roof, and shoot one of the guards, but not me, the other leader, putting me in charge. You can do that, right?'

She nodded.

'I will lead him inside, and get the other Warlocks to go into your building, so you have got to get out of there as soon as he is hit, ok?' I asked, looking up at her.

She nodded again.

'As soon as you've fired, ditch the bow and the arrows, lose the trail and get here. While they are searching for you, I will lead Athaniar into an empty room and kill him. I'll take an arrow, so it looks like he was killed in the initial strike.'

'How are we going to pull this off? We'll never get him outside,' Seliena asked.

'Ah, we don't have to. Remember what your father said? He's holding a speech or something tomorrow, he was accused of his involvement with the Burning Legion, and so he is speaking out to deny it, this evening. This is when we'll strike. It'll shift the blame off of us somewhat; it could be any of his disappointed or disgusted fans.' I grinned at her, 'Can you get hold of a bow by this evening?'

'Yeah, I have one of my sister's old ones somewhere.' She replied.

Evening arrived quickly, filling Silvermoon with dim orange lighting. I quietly scaled the wall into Athaniar's mansion, heading for the Warlock's quarters. I navigated the halls on the rafters, silently leaping from one to another, out of the view of the patrols. A group of the Warlocks passed under me, their bodies covered in black robes, with heavy hoods pulled over their faces. I silently tailed them, watching them from above. They passed through an archway, so I dropped from the rafter and followed, entering a large, circular room with eight doors. The two central doors were the largest, so I silently picked the lock of one and entered. The room was darkly decorated, black and dark purple cloths hung from the ceiling, and what little light entered lit up the various phials and gems that littered the shelves. In a desk was an open book, with a diagram of a large demon, with two horns on its head, huge wings, hooves and a mouth across its abdomen. I climbed up into the dark ceiling, waiting in the rafters for the habitant to return.

I heard the door open, and silently drew my short dagger, my eyes focused on the hooded figure entering the room. He disrobed, his pale flesh reflecting the dwindling sunlight, his skin barely clinging to his skeletal frame. He drew the thick curtains, shutting out the little light that filled the room. My eyes grew used to the darkness, and soon I could see his outline in his coffin shaped bed.

'_How cliché' _I thought as I dropped onto the floor. I lightly stepped next to him, and then in one swift movement, I pressed my hand over his mouth and drew my blade across his throat, his blood flowing over my gloved hand and into the bed sheets. I pulled on the robe and checked my goblin-made wrist-clock. I had about ten minutes until it was time to go. I waited for about twelve minutes, and left the room. The other Warlocks were waiting for me, and we met with Athaniar.

We followed him through the buildings, and onto a balcony, above the huge crowd that filled the Court of the Sun. Three Warlocks and I took place to Athaniar's left, while the others were to the right. I quickly glanced up to the roof where Seliena would soon be, hopefully quickly, I didn't want to have to endure much of his speech. The cheering died down, and Athaniar began.

'Ladies and gentlemen, I have called this-' He cut off as the head Warlock was hit with a loud 'thunk,' and slumped to the floor, and arrow embedded in his gut. I signalled the other six and pointed to the building, as another arrow hit the door between Athaniar and me.

'_She'll pay for that_' I thought as I guided Athaniar through his building. We reached an empty room, what looked like a chapel. Huge, stained glass windows covered the back wall, and rows of benches stood facing an altar. Between two windows, behind the altar hung a huge emblem of the Blood Elves, its gold and red paint reflecting the light filtering through the windows. We stood in the gangway between the benches; he doubled over to catch his breath.

'It'll be ok, Sir,' I said in Gutterspeak.

He looked up at me, shocked, and muttered something in Thalassian, obviously expecting a response. When I didn't give him one, he suddenly shouted something, to which I silenced him by thrusting the arrow I had concealed in the robe into his ribs. He coughed out a bubble of blood, the thick red liquid poured down his chin and onto the red floor, before falling to his knees. What he shouted earlier must have been Thalassian for either 'guards' or 'help', because at that moment, six blood elves entered the room, covered from head to toe in black and red plate armour, wielding large swords.

'Shit,' I muttered as I stepped back from Athaniar. I reached for my wrist and pulled back the robe, flicking the switch to activate the rocket launcher. The guards were yelling it me in Thalassian and glancing at the weapon on my wrist. One guard lunged at me, unexpectedly. I barely dodged the attack, and it seemed this guard's courage emboldened the rest of them, as blades and bodies surrounded me. I did my best to dodge and avoid the attacks, but as I saw more running down the hall, I knew I needed to get out of there. I dodged an overhand slice which would have split me in half, and quickly stepped out of the circle they had made around me.

I reached for a smoke bomb, but the robe was in the way, so I pulled back the sleeve and aimed at the base of one of the windows and fired. A stream of smoke propelled from my wrist to the window, where the resulting explosion shattered the window. I sprinted at the window and leapt out, falling for quite a distance before landing heavily in a tree. I looked up and saw the guards stood at the window. I remained perfectly still; it seemed like they hadn't seen where I'd landed. Eventually, they turned from the window and disappeared out of sight.

I dropped from the tree onto the floor of Eversong Woods, and made my way back into the city, keeping out of view as best as I could.


	4. Chapter 4

I slowly made my way through Eversong Woods, not wanting to arrive back in the city suspiciously quickly. The forest around me seemed magical, the trees were in their autumn colouring, their trunks a golden yellow while the leaves were somewhere between orange and brown, and drifted lazily on the drafts that made their way through the foliage. As I neared a pathway, I ditched my robe and walked towards Silvermoon, quickly formulating a plan on how to get into the city. As I approached the Shepherd's Gate, the huge statue of Keal'Thas looming over me, two guards held out their arms and shouted something in Thalassian.

'_I really need to learn this language'_, I thought as they approached.

Again, they said something in the language of the Blood Elves that I didn't understand, but by the looks on their faces they had just asked me a question. I looked from one of the guards to the other, a confused look on my face.

'What is your business in Silvermoon?' the other one asked in Orcish.

'I've come from Tranquilien,' I answered, making sure the only part they really understood was the last word.

'Again, why are you in Silvermoon?' He asked.

'I've come from Tranquilien. I'm on an urgent mission to Undercity; I need to use the Translocation Orb.' I answered quickly in a mix between Orcish and Gutterspeak, adding emphasis to 'Tranquilien', 'Undercity' and 'Translocation'.

The guards parted, granting me passage into the city. I casually made my way to Seliena's apartment, and quietly let myself in. The Elf was sat on the sofa, clutching nervously at the blanket I had used last night, her face paler than usual.

'Where the hell have you been?' she hissed at me.

'Out in the woods,' I shrugged back at her.

'Do you have any idea how worried I've been?' She asked, standing up and throwing the blanket on the floor, 'I didn't know if you'd escaped, if you'd been captured, killed, anything!'

'I didn't realise I had to report back to you every 5 minutes, Mrs. Faidz.' I replied, letting the last part out rather mockingly.

'Don't take that tone with me, we're supposed to look out for each other,' she said, raising her voice.

'We do look out for each other,' I said, picking up the blanket, folding it and placing it on the sofa.

'So letting me sit here worrying is your idea of looking out for me?' she asked, almost hysterically. 'What if you'd been caught, or died? Then I'd have been here worrying forever without knowing.'

'It's one of the dangers of the job, Seliena. You don't like it, then quit.' I answered her casually.

'I can't quit,' she replied, her face falling, her voice dropping to an almost inaudible level.

'Why not? Every time we go on a mission we end up going through this shit,' I said, leaning up against a wall.

'I can't say…it's...complicated,' She paused, 'you wouldn't understand.'

'Okay,' I shrugged.

'Don't you even care about my problems?' She asked, her voice rising again, her eyes flashing a violent green so bright it would have lit the room up, had it not already been lit.

'No. Your problems are precisely that: your problems.' I said casually.

'Get out!' The Elf screamed, pushing me towards the stained glass door.

Caught off guard, I stumbled out backwards onto a balcony, the door slamming in front of me. I heard something break inside the apartment, then the unmistakable sound of muffled sobbing. Clearly I had said something to upset her.

I sat down on one of the chairs, leaning forwards slightly, my elbows supported on my knees. I pulled off my gloves and slowly flexed my right hand, then my left. They were getting stiff. I knew I didn't have a lot of years left in this kind of work. We might be undead, but we still aged, and soon, provided I lived that long, I would have to hang up my blades and get a less intense job, maybe like what Miles did.

'_Maybe I could start up my own group of assassins,'_ I thought to myself, _'obviously, I'd only take in the best of the best. We'd be the elite of the Horde assassins. Known by all. Seen by none. I just need a cool name. It'd beat working for the apothecaries, sitting their playing with dangerous stuff that could blow up in your face at any minute. Unless I went with the poison specialists, I'd make the world's most deadly poison. Nah, it's too dangerous, what if my hand melts off?'_

I flexed my hand again, contemplating a life without it.

'_No, I need it too much. I think I'd be better off starting my own assassins. Maybe if Seliena and I saved u-'_. I cut off, my thoughts drifting to Seliena. She was still sobbing, presumably into her pillow.

'_She'd never work with me now, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she got her pay for this job and I never saw her again. What did I do wrong?' _I asked myself, reclining in the chair and closing my eyes.

The sound of the balcony door opening brought me out of my reverie. Night had fallen; several of the windows opposite me glowed, with shadows moving around inside them. Seliena slowly stepped out of the door, wearing a loose fitting red cotton robe. Her skin was very pale, and the skin around her eyes was red, she'd clearly been crying for a long time. She stood at the edge of the balcony, her arms resting on the railing, her weight on one leg as the other crossed behind her.

'I'm sorry,' She said, her voice croaky.

'It's fine,' I said, standing next to her and rubbing her shoulder.

'That was my first time killing someone, well, someone I had to look at first. My emotions are all over the place.'

'This job can do that to you. This probably isn't going to help you, but be grateful that it wasn't up close, because those kind of kills take a lot of getting used to,' I said, trying to be reassuring.

'Are you used to it now? Killing someone?' Seliena asked, looking up at me.

'Yeah, I've been doing this for a long time, I'm just a bitter old man with a blade and a guy telling me where to point it,' I answered, staring blankly out into Murder Row.

'You're not a bitter old man,' the Elf replied, linking her arm with mine.

'Yes, I am,' I chuckled.

'Do you remember how we met?' Seliena asked, changing the subject.

I nodded silently.

'You never told me the story from your point of view.' She said, looking up at me expectantly.

'I was on my way to Astranaar, I had just met a contact in Thousand Needles, and my target would be in Astranaar for the next few days. It was just north of the Crossroads, I was aching all over from riding my horse all day, it was almost as bony as I am. So there I was, riding along and feeling sorry for myself. I looked around and there you were, staggering through the dead grass, you were pale, sweaty, your eyes were half closed. I looked away for a second, and then looked back at you. You passed out. I picked you up and took you to the outpost in the northern Barrens, and waited until you were better. Honestly, I couldn't believe you went out there without any water or supplies. So I waited for a few hours, and you started to come to. You asked me my name, I gave it you, and then I left and finished my job. I went back to get paid and there you were with Miles, you'd given him some bullshit story about being an orphan and me saying I'd look out for you, so I promised him I'd help.'

'So, why did you help me? Why didn't you just leave me?' the Elf asked.

'I don't honestly know. I saw you, and you looked so weak and helpless, something inside me told me to help you. I guess as used to killing people I am, I can't just let someone die.' I said, staring at nothing in particular.

'That doesn't sound like a bitter old man to me.' Seliena said, smiling as she shivered and squeezed my arm.

I wrapped my cloak around her, my arm around her also, her head rested on my shoulder. Neither of us spoke, we both just stared out, lost in our own thoughts. After what seemed like forever, I shifted uncomfortably; I hadn't spent this long touching someone since I was a human.

'Let's go in.' The Elf said, letting go of my arm.

She led me into the apartment, and motioned for me to sit down while she activated the magical lamps and set the fire going.

'Faidz, I've been thinking,' Seliena said, nervously picking at one hand with the other as she sat opposite me. 'I want to ask you something, but I'm not quite sure how to go about it, or if you'll think I've stepped over the line or anything.'

'Just ask me then, that's the only way you'll find out.' I said.

'Well, it's about your promotion. I heard Miles say that you'll be able to take an apprentice, and I was wondering…' She paused, choosing her next words, 'I mean, if you wouldn't mind, if, maybe, I could be your apprentice.'

I sat back on the sofa, relaxing slightly, when she started again, not even giving me time to answer.

'I know we don't always get on, and I shout at you and stuff, but you're the best, and I learn quick, and who better to learn from than the best, right?' Seliena said at a pace which made it almost impossible to understand her.

'Seliena, stop, calm down. Honestly, I wasn't going to ask anyone else. You've proven you're more than capable, you're pretty much my apprentice anyway, I said, watching her features break out into a smile, 'Although you do put me through a _lot_ of shit.'

I barely had time to defend myself as she practically jumped over the coffee table and knelt on the sofa beside me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck, and I was sure I felt her plant a kiss on my cheek. I awkwardly wrapped an arm around her and patted her on the back as she repeated her 'thank you's into my shoulder.

'Calm down,' I said, gently breaking the embrace. 'It's going to be a lot of work, this kind of job isn't easy, and although you are skilled at getting information, and I'll admit, you've got some skill with a bow, it's going to take a lot of work to turn you into a killer.'

'I know, I know,' she said, her smile fading slightly, 'but I'm willing.'

'Right. Do you want to leave tomorrow then, and sort everything out with Miles, or would you like to stay in Silvermoon for a while? I'll warn you now, you might not be back for a long time.' I asked her.

'Let's go. Tomorrow. I'll say my goodbyes, and sort everything I need in the morning, then we can leave around lunchtime. Sound good to you?' The Blood Elf said enthusiastically.

The Ruins of Lordaeron materialised around me as I once again hit the floor, while Seliena casually stepped to the onto the cold stone floor, a huge smirk across her face.

'You really aren't good at this, are you?' She asked mockingly.

I simply shot her a dirty look as I stood up, and headed to the Rogue's Quarter. I stepped behind my boss, busy with paperwork, and put on a mock serious tone.

'Miles Dexter. You are wanted in connection to the murder of Athaniar Suntreader.'

The Forsaken bolted upright; I noticed his hand reaching under his desk.

'Hands where I can see them.' I continued.

He placed his hands on the back of his head.

'Gotcha,' I said, dropping the voice and patting him on the shoulder. 'Job done, though.'

'Yes, I heard,' He said, standing and turning to face me. 'Not exactly textbook execution, but you got the job done.'

'There were complications, sir,' I said.

'Save it, Suntreader is dead, no one suspects us, and everything is good. Congratulations on the promotion.' He said, offering his hand.

'Thank you, sir,' I replied, shaking his hand.

'Now, who do you want me to name as your apprentice?' He asked.

'Seliena,' I answered, gesturing towards the Blood Elf.

'Are you sure?' Miles asked, almost shocked.

'Yes, she's proven her capabilities and enthusiasm, and I think she will make a damn good assassin.' I said, nodding towards Seliena.

'And you're ok with this?' The Forsaken asked, looking at Seliena.

'Yes', she replied.

Miles coughed.

'Oh. Yes, sir,' Seliena said.

'Alright,' he said, grabbing a quill writing something on a piece of parchment, 'it's official.'

He rummaged around on his desk until he found another piece of parchment, and handed it to Seliena.

'Take that to the War quarter, you'll get your first daggers.'

Seliena nodded as she took the slip, and quietly left the room.

'Now, your next assignment, it shouldn't be too hard. Most of the legwork is done for you, I have a contact set up who has done pretty much everything you use Seliena for, this is just to take her along and get her into it properly.'

I nodded, 'Who's the target, sir?'

'Kaylai Starsinger. A Night Elf Priestess. She trains the battle priests in Darnassus, but she's currently in Ironforge, passing her knowledge to the dwarves. Her priests are the ones who nearly cost us Warsong Gulch, and we would have lost if those moon lovers weren't so squishy. These dwarves though, well you know what they are like in combat, almost as hard to kill as the Kor'kron. She can't be allowed to train the priests in Ironforge. Also, we don't know how long she's there for, or how long it will take her to train the priests, so again, sooner rather than later.'

'Sounds easy, sir. What's the catch?' I asked.

'That's the thing. We can only get you as close as Loch Modan. You'll have to make your own way from their. Your contact will be in Kharanos, a dwarf by the name of Golganar. Don't contact him in Kharanos, draw him out. Also, we don't have a way of getting you inside Ironforge, you'll either have to sort something out with the contact or find your own way in. Here.'

He handed me a small piece of paper, which I took and pocketed.

'Dismissed.' He said.

I nodded and head out to find Seliena, who was waiting outside, and ready for our first mission officially as partners.


End file.
